CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Reduces Position in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co trimmed its position in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 35.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,432,296 shares of the bank's stock after selling 777,552 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.16% of Regions Financial worth $33,655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dean Investment Associates LLC boosted its stake in Regions Financial by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 132,733 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,681 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Regions Financial by 118.5% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,902,050 shares of the bank's stock valued at $44,736,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031,572 shares in the last quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Regions Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $118,000. Farringdon Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $595,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Regions Financial by 1,862.9% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 692,502 shares of the bank's stock worth $16,288,000 after buying an additional 657,222 shares in the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joia M. Johnson bought 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $21.18 per share, for a total transaction of $48,714.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,353.48. This represents a 15.15 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on RF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.53.

Regions Financial Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE:RF traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $20.55. The stock had a trading volume of 2,867,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,404,225. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Regions Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $17.72 and a twelve month high of $27.96. The company has a market capitalization of $18.60 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.49.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 12.83%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.37 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.87%. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.08%.

Regions Financial Profile

Regions Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides banking and bank-related services to individual and corporate customers. It operates through three segments: Corporate Bank, Consumer Bank, and Wealth Management. The Corporate Bank segment offers commercial banking services, such as commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, and investor real estate lending; equipment lease financing; deposit products; and securities underwriting and placement, loan syndication and placement, foreign exchange, derivatives, merger and acquisition, and other advisory services.